HOLISTIC HEALTH NOTEBOOK

OOr so your mother thought. Mention the oily stuff at a party and pained grimaces will flicker across people's faces. One does not easily forget the oil slick on the roof of the mouth.

Your mother was right, however. Cod liver oil is truly good for the body, starting with the anti-inflammatory properties of the omega-3 fats, the skin- and immune system support of the vitamin A, and the vitamin D for your bones.

And now, studies are published showing that cod liver oil could possibly help patients with rheumatoid arthritis reduce their medications.

In a 2008 study published in Rheumatology, 97 subjects between the ages of 37 and 78, diagnosed with RA, received either a placebo or 10 grams of cod liver oil per day. Patients were asked to keep track of their medications and told to reduce the dosage as much as possible, even stopping them if possible. All patients were on NSAIDS; some were also other anti-rheurmatic drugs or other medications.

The intake and average daily requirement from the previous visit was compared with the baseline dose. Any reduction or increase in NSAID dose was documented in percentages. When the patients who completed the study were analyzed, 59 percent of the patients in the cod liver oil group were able to reduce their daily NSAID requirement by more than 30 percent at the end of nine months. Nineteen percent of the placebo group were able to reduce their medications.

I frankly am a little disappointed that only 59 percent of the patients found enough benefit from the oil to reduce their medication. However, one of my goals for people in pain is to reduce the inflammatory triggers. In other words, what is causing the RA and how can we modify the diet or lifestyle to reduce the body's inflammatory process?

This is where lifestyle and nutrition coaching comes into play. Allergy testing is an essential part of the process. The allergy panel that has been most helpful to me is the Alcat test (www.alcat.com). When you remove the inflammatory triggers, the benefits of natural products skyrocket.

On another note, someone asked me the other day what are my comfort foods. The question baffled me because I don't use food for comfort. Pleasure? Yes. Healing? Yes. But comfort? Not really. Thinking about it later, however, I realize that I sometimes use Chinese food for comfort. Strange.

A recent study shows why stress creates cravings for comfort foods. Researchers found that stress causes an increase in steroid hormones; the hormones themselves prompt pleasure seeking behavior, including high energy foods like sugar and lard.

Eating these comfort foods may actually help control the hormonal output of stress. Usually, the comfort foods are high-energy (calorie) foods that help compensate for the increased energy demands during times of stress.

— Carol is a certified lifestyle educator at the offices of Dr. Alan Gruning in Fort Myers, 939-3303. She owns the Island Nutrition Center on Sanibel, 472-4499.